Breast ptosis involves an inferior displacement or sagging of breast parenchyma accompanied by an inferior displacement of the nipple-areolar complex (NAC) with respect to the inframammary fold (IMF). Breast ptosis may be found in patients with normal breast size, with relatively small breast size (hypoplasia) or with enlarged breast size (hypertrophy). The combination of ptosis and hypoplasia may be found in the post-partum breast, as the relative breast enlargement of pregnancy and lactation recedes, leaving behind a stretched skin envelope that contains the involuted parenchyma. Hypertrophic breasts typically include some component of breast ptosis in addition to enlarged size.
Breast ptosis is categorized according to the position of the NAC relative to the IMF and relative to the lower pole of breast tissue. Grade 1 ptosis is considered mild, with the nipple just below the IMF but still above the lower pole. Grade 2 ptosis is considered moderate, with the nipple further below the IMF, but with some lower pole tissue below the nipple. Grade 3, severe ptosis, has the nipple well below the IMF, and no lower pole tissue below the nipple. Pseudoptosis, observed with postpartum breast atrophy, includes inferior pole ptosis, with the nipple positioned at or above the IMF.
Mastopexy is a surgical procedure performed to correct breast ptosis. Its goals are to restore the normal contour of the breast mound and to reposition the NAC. To achieve this goal, the excess breast skin is removed or tightened, the parenchymal volume is augmented or reduced as needed, and the NAC is repositioned. The choice of technique is based on the desired final breast size and the degree of ptosis. For minimal ptosis and breast hypoplasia, breast augmentation is sometimes employed in lieu of mastopexy even though it involves the use of a silicone implant. Breast augmentation involves the placement of a breast implant underneath the breast parenchyma, usually through an inframammary fold incision. The implant pushes the parenchyma up and out for a less ptotic and larger appearance. The projection is much more pronounced when the implants are placed in the subglandular position compared to the submuscular position.
When more ptosis correction is required, the traditional mastopexy employs NAC repositioning and/or skin resection. A variety of skin incisions may be used, each leaving its own characteristic scar pattern after healing. Skin incisions include the wise or anchor pattern, the circumareolar incision, and the periareolar incision.
Because it is a voluntary, cosmetic procedure, avoiding or minimizing skin incisions adds to the challenge of mastopexy surgery. Mastopexy surgery has traditionally been accompanied by considerable scarring. The extensive scars of the Wise pattern mastopexy, for example, may be necessary if major repositioning and resection is performed, but they represent a significant drawback to the procedure. Though endoscopic techniques have been devised for mastopexy procedures, open surgery is required in many cases to move the nipple, remove excess tissue, or recontour the breast mound. Even if the “anchor” scars of the Wise pattern can be avoided, other open mastopexy techniques still create visible scars on the breast.
The crescent, or periareolar incision may provide for the least noticeable scars; however, serious areola stretching or tissue necrosis is a not infrequent problem as all of the newly lifted parenchymal weight is supported by suture around the areola.
With traditional mastopexy procedures, the tightened skin envelope provides the main support for the lifted breast. Breast implants can be used to fill out the breast contour superiorly, this procedure is termed the augmentation-mastopexy. The augmentation-mastopexy procedure has higher risk of morbidity and twice the number of scars.
Breast flap repositioning can also be used to fill out the superior contour of the breast; however, this type of breast mound repositioning is a significantly more invasive and complex procedure that involves transposing lower pole tissue bulk and moving it superiorly and securing it to a deeper and higher tissue plane.
Irrespective of the type of mastopexy procedure performed, it is standard procedure that the tightened skin remains the primary support used to keep the breast mound elevated. As the lower pole skin stretches over time as it did in the first instance, ptosis can recur or pseudoptosis (“bottoming out”) can take place. Placement of a breast implant leads to additional weight upon the skin of the lower pole, possibly leading to more rapid skin expansion and recurrent ptosis.
For retaining an upright configuration to the lifted breast and avoiding the post-operative sequelae of recurrent ptosis or pseudoptosis, or “bottoming out”, certain authors have advocated the use of permanent prosthetics such as polypropylene mesh or silicone sheeting to reinforce the lower pole (see, for example, the Orbix breast lifting kit manufactured by Orbix Medical, Tel Aviv, Israel) or wrap the entire parenchyma (see, for example, the Breform™ device, manufactured by Aspide Medical, St. Etienne, France). Concerns about leaving foreign bodies permanently in the breast have limited the widespread adoption of these techniques somewhat. A permanent foreign body, according to the literature, is prone to infection and can facilitate a chronic inflammatory reaction. Furthermore, chronic foreign body reactions are often linked to hardening of the tissue and capsular contracture in the same manner as that associated with breast implants. Moreover, a permanent foreign body can interfere with breast cancer surveillance and can distort tissue planes if an oncological procedure is required.
Various permanent sheets such as polypropylene or polyester meshes have been wrapped around the parenchyma (see, for example, the Breform™ device, manufactured by Aspide Medical, St. Etienne, France), but lack an anchoring element that removes load from the skin of the lower pole, thus subjecting the wrapped breast not only to the potential chronic inflammatory response but also to the same ptotic forces as before surgery. Permanent silicone sheets have also been used to cradle the lower pole, which is then suspended from screws in the ribcage, placing all of the load force on one or two fixation points high above the nipple. Additionally, various minimally invasive mastopexy procedures are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,670,372 to Orbix and Patent Publication No. 2008/0027273 to Gutterman.
More recently, allograft or xenograft products have been proposed as suitable to provide extra support for breast tissue or breast implants during post-mastectomy reconstruction. For example, acellular cadaveric dermal matrix or crosslinked bovine or ovine dermal matrix or collagen have been proposed. Acellular cadaveric dermal matrix has been used extensively in procedures to extend the skin flap or reposition the breast during reconstruction procedures. Depending upon the degree of processing involved in the formation of these constructs, they gradually degrade and sometimes resorb, and there is anecdotal evidence that they are replaced with tissue. If degradation occurs too quickly, though, these tissue matrices are not replaced by scar tissue and the patient can suffer recurrent ptosis and “bottoming out.” And if they do not resorb or resorb quite slowly, there is evidence in the literature that they cause increased seroma formation and infection compared to natural tissue flaps. As with the synthetic mesh, these devices require full open procedures and do not alleviate scarring.
A further challenge for mastopexy surgeons is the evolving aesthetic of the upper pole. While traditional mastopexy techniques focused on elevation of the ptotic NAC and lower pole, there is contemporary demand for a fuller look to the upper pole as well. Upper pole fullness, commonly seen following breast augmentation surgery with silicone and shaped implants, has become the paradigm to which some women aspire when thinking about breast surgery. This aesthetic can motivate a mastopexy patient to seek a fuller upper pole in conjunction with a lifted lower pole, a tightened inferior skin envelope and a repositioned NAC.
There remains a need in the art, therefore, for systems and methods of mastopexy that provide the creation or restoration of an uplifted breast shape in a more durable way, as well as preventing post-operative pseudoptosis or recurrent ptosis without compromising the safety or aesthetic quality of the surgical outcome. Desirably, this solution would avoid the potential complications that can accompany the standard mastopexy procedure, permanent mesh placement and/or breast implants while providing long-lasting support for the reshaped breast. For example, it would be desirable to deploy soft-tissue promoting resorbable scaffolds and supports or a long-lasting resorbable matrix that is elastic enough to permit a natural dynamic appearance to the breast via smaller incisions such that, once placed, they offer a good balance between scarring, tissue ingrowth and ultimate resorption. There is a further need in the art for mastopexy techniques that can provide a fuller contour for the upper pole, to satisfy patient aesthetic demands. And, as previously mentioned, avoiding or minimizing scars remains a desirable goal.